The alcohol licensing laws of the United Kingdom regulate the sale and consumption of alcohol, with separate legislation for England and Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland being passed, as necessary, by the UK parliament, the Northern Ireland Assembly, and the Scottish Parliament respectively. Throughout the United Kingdom, the sale of alcohol is restricted—pubs, restaurants, shops and other premises must be licensed by the local authority. In England, Wales and Scotland the authority to sell alcohol is divided into two parts – the Premises Licence, which prescribes the times and conditions under which alcohol can be sold, and a Personal Licence
which allows individuals to sell alcohol or authorise its sale by others. Every Premises Licence which authorises the sale of alcohol must also name a Designated Premises Supervisor (Designated Premises Manager in Scotland) (“DPS” or “DPM” for short) who must hold a valid Personal Licence – otherwise alcohol cannot be sold at that premises. The DPS has day-to-day responsibility for the sale of alcohol at licensed premises. Premises licences, in as far as they concern the sale of alcohol, can be categorised to include on-licences (allowing consumption of alcohol on the premises) and off-licences. However, these distinctions are not explicitly made in the Licensing Act 2003, and the po-
sition in Scotland and Northern Ireland is more complex. Many on-licensed premises also permit off-sales. The age at which people are legally allowed to purchase alcohol is 18 in most circumstances. Adults purchasing alcohol on behalf of a person under 18 in a pub or from an off-licence are potentially liable to prosecution along with the vendor. However, legislation does allow for the consumption of alcohol by those under 18 in the following circumstances The individual is aged 5 or older, and is at home or other private premises.
The short-term effects of alcohol (ethanol) consumption–due to drinking beer, wine, distilled spirits or other alcoholic beverages–range from a decrease in anxiety and motor skills and euphoria at lower doses to intoxication (drunkenness), stupor, unconsciousness, anterograde amnesia (memory “blackouts”), and central nervous system depression at higher doses. Cell membranes are highly permeable to alcohol, so once alcohol is in the bloodstream it can diffuse into nearly every cell in the body. The concentration of alcohol in blood is measured via blood alcohol content (BAC).
The amount and circumstances of consumption play a large part in determining the extent of intoxication; for example, eating a heavy meal before alcohol consumption causes alcohol to absorb more slowly. [1] The amount of alcohol consumed largely determines the extent of hangovers, although hydration also plays a role. After excessive drinking, stupor and unconsciousness can occur. Extreme levels of consumption can lead to alcohol poisoning and death (a concentration in the blood stream of 0.40% will kill half of those affected[2][3]). Alcohol may also cause death indirectly, by asphyxiation from vomit.
Labelling Example of Wine Bottle label in accordance with UK voluntary health labelling scheme UK alcohol companies pledged in March 2011 to implement an innovative health labelling scheme to provide more information about responsible drinking on alcohol labels and containers. This voluntary scheme is the first of its kind in Europe and has been developed in conjunction with the UK Department of Health. The pledge stated: “We will ensure that over 80% of products on shelf (by December 2013) will have labels with clear unit content, NHS guidelines and a warning about drinking when pregnant.” At the end of 2014, 101 companies had committed to the pledge labelling scheme. There are five elements included within the overall labelling scheme, the first three being mandatory, and the last two optional: Unit alcohol content per container (mandatory), and per serving (optional) Chief Medical Officers’ daily guidelines for lower-risk consumption Pregnancy warning (in text or as a graphic) Mention of “drinkaware.co.uk” (optional) Responsibility statement (e.g., “please drink responsibly”) (optional) Further detailed specifications about the labelling scheme are available from the “Alcohol labelling tool kit”.
Quantities Chart showing alcohol unit count for drink size and ABV It is sometimes misleadingly stated that there is one unit per half-pint of beer, or small glass of wine, or single measure of spirits. However, such statements do not take into account the various strengths and volumes supplied in practice. For example, the ABV of beer typically varies from 3.5% to 5.5%. A typical “medium” glass of wine with 175 ml at 12% ABV has 2.1 units. And spirits, although typically 35–40% ABV, have single measures of 25 ml or 35 ml (so 1 or 1.4 units) depending on location. The misleading nature of “one unit per half-pint of beer, or small glass of wine, or single measure of spirits” can lead to people underestimating their alcohol intake.
Beers:
Half an imperial pint (284 ml) of beer with 3.5% ABV contains almost exactly one unit; however, most beers are stronger. In pubs in the United Kingdom, beers generally range from 3.5–5.5% ABV, and continental lagers start at around 4% ABV. An imperial pint of such lager (e.g., 568 ml at 5.2%) contains almost 3 units of alcohol[13] rather than the oft-quoted 2 units. Stronger beer (6–12%) may contain 2 units or more per half pint (imperial). A half litre (500 ml) of standard lager or ale (5%) contains 2.5 units.
Illegally dumped hazardous waste may be a result of the A small river’s valley in In- costs of dropping materials at dia shows extensive littering designated sites: some of these of plastic and paper. Human charge a fee for depositing waste, illustrated by the urinat- hazardous material.[10] Lack of ing man, increase fecal coliform access to nearby facilities that and other bacteria levels in the accept hazardous waste may deter use. Additionally, ignowater. In addition to intentional litter- rance of the laws that regulate ing, almost half of litter on U.S. the proper disposal of hazardroadways is now accidental or ous waste may cause improper unintentional litter, usually de- disposal. bris that falls off improperly secured trash, recycling collec- According to a study by the tion vehicles and pickup trucks. Dutch organization VROM, 80% [4] Population levels, traffic of people claim that “everydensity and proximity to waste body leaves a piece of paper, disposal sites are factors known tin or something, on the street to correlate with higher litter behind�.[11] Young people from 12 to 24 years cause more rates. litter than the average (Dutch or Belgian) person; only 18% of
Causes:
people who regularly cause litter were 50 years of age or older. However, a 2010 survey of littering in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont in the United States, placed litterers aged 55 and over at less than 5%. The same observational study estimated that 78% of litterers are male.[9] Nevertheless, automobile drivers and recreationalists[clarification needed], smokers and young people are specific target groups for many campaigns to keep countries free of litter.[citation needed] In 1999, research by Keep America Beautiful found that 75% of Americans admitted to littering the last five years, yet 99% of the same individuals admitted that they enjoyed a clean environment.
Alcohol abuse is a pattern of drinking that results in harm to one’s health, interpersonal relationships, or ability to work. According to Gelder, Mayou & Geddes (2005) alcohol abuse is linked with suicide. They state the risk of suicide is high in older men who have a history of drinking, as well as those suffering from depression. Certain manifestations of alcohol abuse include failure to fulfill responsibilities at work, school, or home; drinking in dangerous situations, including the operation of a motor vehicle; legal concerns associated with alcohol use; and continued drinking despite problems that are caused or worsened by drinking. Alcohol abuse can lead to alcohol dependence.[6] In the diagnosis manual DSM-5 alcohol abuse is combined with alcohol dependence to create one unified disorder, alcohol use disorder (AUD),[7] that includes a graded clinical severity from moderate to severe with at least 2 criteria to make diagnoses. For adolescents, the DSM-5 proposes that diagnoses meeting 2 or 3 criteria would be similar to alcohol abuse while meeting over 4 criteria would be equivalent to alcohol dependence when compared to the DSM-IV. Alcohol abuse has both short-term and long-term risks. If a person drives while drunk or regularly consuming binge drink (more than five standard drinks in one drinking session), they are considered to have been involved in alcohol abuse. Short-term abuses of alcohol include, but are not limited to, violence, injuries, unprotected sexual activities and, additionally, social and financial problems. [8
The older adult population (over 65 years) is frequently overlooked when discussing alcohol abuse. A smaller volume of consumed alcohol has a greater impact on the older adult than it does on a younger individual. As a result, the American Geriatrics Society recommends for an older adult with no known risk factors less than one drink a day or fewer than two drinks per occasion regardless of gender,[9][10][11] this is less than current recommendations of maximum alcohol consumption per week, for adults noted to be nine drinks for a male and seven for a female.[12] Binge drinking: Main article: Binge drinking In the USA, binge drinking is defined as consuming more than five units in men and four units in women. It increases chances for vandalism, fights, violent behaviours, injuries, drunk driving, trouble with police, negative health, social, economic, or legal consequences to occur.[13] Binge drinking is also associated with neurocognitive deficits of frontal lobe processing and impaired working memory as well as delayed auditory and verbal memory deficits.[13] Binge drinking combined with the stress of returning to work is a contributing factor to Monday deaths from heart attacks.[14] The chances of becoming dependent are increased greatly in men who have 15 or more drinks each week or women who have 12 or more drinks each week. This is